BEIJING-WiMAX is alive at the WiMAX Forum’s Face-to-Face event in Beijing this week as broadband equipment companies Aperto Networks Inc., Axxcelera Broadband Wireless, Redline Communications Inc., Sequans Communications and Wavesat Inc. demonstrated their offerings. The event centered on transmissions between pre-certified TDD-based WiMAX base stations and customer premise equipment for voice, video and data communications.
The same companies wrapped up interoperability trials Nov. 6 in Beijing at the WiMAX Forum’s public PlugFest event.
“The ability of WiMAX products from different vendors to interoperate with one another has been one of the major objectives of the WiMAX industry,” said Andrew Kreig, president of Wireless Communications Association International. “This live demonstration of interoperability between five global vendors underscores that WiMAX will have the ability to deliver on the promise of ubiquitous affordable broadband connectivity.”
The WiMAX Forum is expected to certify the IEEE’s proposed WiMAX specification standard by the end of this year.
“Product compatibility, or interoperability, is the most important factor in WiMAX Forum certification,” said Andy Fuertes, senior analyst at Visant Strategies. “Operators around the world have been planning their WiMAX deployments based on the promise of interoperability, which will provide carriers with greater technology choices, and ultimately result in compelling business models for broadband rollouts.”
